MN Better Notation Plugins

About

A set of plug-ins for MuseScore Studio and Sibelius Ultimate that assists in the creation of player-friendly scores by providing over 160 automatic proof-reading checks for common notation and layout errors, as well as providing simple ways to create professional-looking title pages, and automatic layout tweaks to make your scores look fantastic.

Your performers will love you!

Bundled plug-ins

MN Check Rhythmic Notation
MN Check Layout and Instrumentation
MN Check Accidentals
MN Create Title Page (MuseScore only)
MN Make Recommended Layout Changes (MuseScore only)
MN Delete Comments and Highlights

MN CHECK RHYTHMIC NOTATION

Proofreading checks:
- Notes incorrectly ‘hiding’ a beat (with standard exceptions)
- Overspecified tied notes that can be ‘condensed’ into a single note
- Overspecified rests that can be ‘condensed’ into a single rest
- Bar rests incorrectly entered manually
- Notes not beamed together correctly
- Notes incorrectly beamed together
- Notes that might be better written as staccato
- Rests that might be better written to show the metre
- Non-standard tuplets that require the ratio to be shown
- Overly complex or misleading tuplets
- Inner beams that should be broken
- Tuplets where the numerator and denominator are the same
- ‘Dumb tuplets’ (i.e. tuplets that are unnecessary, such as two dotted crotchets under a triplet bracket that can be rewritten as two crotchets)

MN CHECK LAYOUT AND INSTRUMENTATION

Proofreading checks:
- Spacing and layout: inappropriate staff size, inappropriate margins, barline width too thick, bar spacing too wide or too narrow, minimum bar width too small, inappropriate spacing ratio, note spacing too wide or narrow, some style settings not optimal, bar number on first bar, staff spacing not optimal, system spacing not optimal, page size not A3 or A4, last system not finishing in bottom right-hand corner of page, barlines not going through all staves of standard small ensemble, stretch factors applied inappropriately, no title page for work longer than 2 pages, name of work missing from first page of music, subtitle missing for solo works, non-optimal page layout settings for the parts, unnecessary or incorrect brackets/braces on left-hand side, barlines not connected correctly
- Staff names and order: non-standard staff names, missing staff names, non-standard staff name visibility, incorrect staff order, duplicate staff names, staff name indicates plural but not quantity
- Fonts and styles: non-optimal tuplets font, incorrectly styled text, incorrect dynamics font, non-optimal page number font, tempo size too small
- Dynamics: missing first dynamic, redundant dynamics, long hairpins not ‘terminated’, incorrect location for dynamics, dynamic needing restating after long rest, ‘dim.’/‘cresc.’ used instead of hairpins, long passages without dynamics, dynamics or hairpins placed under a rest, hairpins dragged away from their correct location, sforzando markings without accents, compound dynamics (e.g. sfzp) that are unrealisable, dynamics attached to the wrong object
- Tempo markings: tempo marking not entered in Tempo text, rit./accel. without a terminating metronome mark/tempo indication/a tempo/tempo primo, tempo marking too large, metronome marking in bold, tempo marking not in bold, missing tempo marking, ‘approx.’ rather than ‘c.’, redundant (repeated) metronome marks, two rits or accels in a row without an intervening tempo marking, unnecessary parentheses in metronome marking, opening metronome marking without a ‘mood descriptor’, tempo marking not attached to beat 1
- Text objects: common misspellings, incorrectly capitalised text, space or non-alphanumeric character at start, text could be abbreviated, incorrect location for expressions, straight quotes instead of curly, default title/subtitle/composer not changed, techniques placed over rests
- Rehearsal marks: missing rehearsal marks, rehearsal marks placed in first two bars, rehearsal marks out of sequence, rehearsal mark not attached to beat 1
- Vocal music: incorrect hyphenation of common lyrics, notes lacking lyrics, notes lacking melismatic extensions, melismata lacking slurs, multiple syllables under one one, incorrect positioning of dynamics, no lyrics extender on tied notes, incorrect lyrics font size
- Orchestral parts issues: monophonic line on a shared wind/brass staff missing player indication (e.g. 1./a 2 etc.); monophonic orchestral string part lacking ‘unis.’ after ‘div.’ marking
- String-specific issues: redundant arco/pizz./col legno/tasto/pont/ord. markings, passage that looks arco but is marked pizz., incorrect notation for string harmonics, string harmonic does not exist, artificial harmonic interval incorrect, overly long slurs, long pizz. notes, staccato pizz. notes, slurs that may be too long for one bow stroke, fingered tremolos not slurred, bowed tremolos slurred, multiple-stops where two notes have to be played on the same string, triple- or quadruple-stops written with all strings sustained, potentially impossible double-stops, difficult passages of fast multiple-stops, slurs that are too long for stated dynamic, inappropriate slurred staccato, artificial harmonics too high, incorrect fluttertounge notation, queries potentially unnecessary isolated bow markings, bow markings in non-string instruments, harmonics written with both diamond noteheads and harmonic circles
- Harp-specific issues: double flats/sharps, impossible chords, too many notes in a chord, too many quick pedal changes, slurred staccato
- Instrument-specific issues: redundant mute indications, piano stretches too wide, flute harmonics incorrectly notated, fluttertongue incorrectly notated, flags dynamics that may be inappropriate for certain registers, flags notes that may be out-of-range or requiring a professional, missing pedal markings, multiple full pedal markings in a row (that could just be retakes), no ‘Ped.’ symbol used, smooth or wiggly glissandi used incorrectly, trombone glisses impossible, polyphony in monophonic instrument, long notes on drums without trill/tremolo, staccato dots on drums, potentially unnecessary clef changes in harp/marimba, redundant vibrato markings, ambiguous short notes on sustaining instruments
- Pitch: incorrect use of clefs, clef change needed, incorrect or unnecessary use of 8va/8vb, 8va/8vb needed, horn written in bass clef unnecessarily, unnecessary use of 22ma/22ba
- Key signatures: extreme key signatures (6 or more sharps/flats), rapid key signature change, redundant key signature change
- Time signatures: missing first time signature, redundant time signatures
- Clefs: instrument doesn’t read given clef, redundant clef, missing a clef change that would improve readability, poorly positioned clef change, incorrect clef for voice type
- Slurs: slurs incorrectly begin/end on tied note, repeated notes under a slur without articulation, slur used instead of tie, accented notes in middle of a slur, slurs over rests, slurs within slurs, slurs attached to the same note, long passages without slurs or articulation, slurs entered manually rather than automatically, slurs dragged away from their automatic position, slurs missing from two-note tremolos
- Other: fermatas inconsistent or missing across parts, fermatas written over staccato notes, tremolos incorrectly written, incorrect notation of grace notes, stems incorrectly flipped, note tied to different pitch, pickup bars with inconsistent rests, transposing score not switched on, unnecessarily complex key signatures, short key signature changes, redundant time signature changes, staccato on dotted notes, ties across rests, identical chords with some but not all notes tied, beams manually dragged away from default position, double staccatos, tremolos with staccatos, harmonics without harmonic circles on tied notes, arpeggios with unnecessary up arrows, noteheads manually flipped direction, glissandi between notes of the same pitch, non-standard articulations and fermatas

MN CHECK ACCIDENTALS

Proofreading checks:
- augmented and diminished intervals preceded or followed by another augmented or diminished interval (often a sign that an accidental has been misspelled)
- double-sharps & double-flats which may not be necessary
- extreme accidentals (e.g. B♯, C♭, E♯, F♭), accounting for key signature
- unnecessary accidentals
- recommended courtesy accidentals
- preferred chromatic ascent/descent spelling
- unnecessary parentheses on courtesy accidentals

MN CREATE TITLE PAGE

MN Create Title Page automatically creates a professional-looking title page from the Title, Subtitle and Composer information entered on your score
It lets you choose from a number of different templates/styles, many of which have been loosely modelled on professional music publishers’ house styles.
MN Create Title Page will also, if required, automatically create a ‘front matter page’, with boilerplate text entered for you to populate (e.g. programme note, performance notes, instrumentation, etc.)
NOTE: the bundled templates require commonly available fonts. Many of these fonts come with Mac OS X and/or Windows, or are installed by Microsoft Office. Some may need to be manually installed. See below for links to font downloads.

MN MAKE RECOMMENDED LAYOUT CHANGES

MN Make Recommended Layout Changes automatically applies some key layout settings, as recommended by composer Michael Norris, such as:
- Spacing and layout: staff size (based on the number of instruments), page margins, barline width, minimum bar width, spacing ratio, some style settings not optimal, bar number on first bar, staff spacing, system spacing, removes any manually added layout breaks, first system indentation, barline connection/disconnection
- Parts: staff size (based on the number of instruments), page margins, barline width, minimum bar width, spacing ratio, some style settings not optimal, bar number on first bar, staff spacing, system spacing, first system indentation, multimeasure rests, multirest width
- Staff names and order: Sets staff name visibility appropriate to ensemble size
- Fonts: sets all tuplet, bar number, technique, expression font to Times New Roman, part name frame and padding, page number style to plain
- Other: slur line width, title frame height and distance to music

Download and Installation

Step 1 — Download plugins

Click on one of the links below, depending on whether you use MuseScore or Sibelius.:
Download MN Better Notation Plugins for MuseScore
Zip 4.6Mb

Download MN Better Notation Plugins for Sibelius
Zip 4.6Mb

Step 2 — Unzip the download

Locate the downloaded ZIP file: if it didn’t automatically unzip (decompress), then you can double-click it to unzip.
A normal folder will appear containing the plugin files and associated files and folders.

Step 3 — Install the plugins

The method you use to install the plugins depends on whether you are using MuseScore or Sibelius:

MuseScore

Open MuseScore.
Go to Plugins → Plugin Manager.
Click Open Plugins Folder.
Copy the entire folder (called MNBetterNotationPlugins) from the unzipped download folder into this Plugins folder.
If you plan to use MN Make Recommended Layout Changes, you must install the four fonts from the Fonts folder included in the Zip archive
If you plan to use MN Create Title Page, you must now download and install the free fonts for MN Create Title Page (see below)
Return to MuseScore and click Reload Plugins (or restart MuseScore).
Enable each of the plugins by ticking its checkbox in the Plugin Manager. The plugins will now be available from the Plugins menu.

Sibelius

Open Sibelius.
Go to File → Preferences → Plugins.
Click Open Plugin Folder (or Reveal in Finder / Explorer).
Open the folder called Plugins (and any relevant subfolder, if specified).
Copy the plugin file(s) from the unzipped download folder into this Plugins folder.
Restart Sibelius. The plugins should now appear in the ‘Review’ tab, under the Plugins button.

Installing fonts (MN Create Title Page)

The templates in the MN Create Title Page plugin use the following freely available fonts. Many of these fonts come bundled with the Windows and/or Mac OS operating systems; all are available as a free download. I do not have authorisation to redistribute them, so you’ll need to download them yourself.

Academy Engraved LET: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Alegreya Sans: available for download here
Amulya: available for download here
Aptos: bundled with Windows and Microsoft products; the latest available for download here
Archivo: available for download here
Avenir: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Baskerville: bundled with Mac OS X; Libre Baskerville, a very similar font, is available for download here — you will need to manually set the fonts to Libre Baskerville.
Bitter: available for download here
Bodoni Moda: available for download here
Century Schoolbook: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Chaparral Pro: available for download here
Clash Display: available for download here
Crimson Pro: available for download here
EB Garamond: available for download here
Fanwood Text: available for download here
Futura: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Gill Sans: bundled with Max OS X and Windows 11; available for download here
Goudy Old Style: bundled with Microsoft Office; available for download here
Helvetica Neue: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Linden Hill: available for download here
Literata: available for download here
Lucida Bright: bundled with Microsoft Office; available for download here
Lulo Clean: available for download here
Optima: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Palatino: bundled with Mac OS X and Windows 11
Proxima Nova: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Rockwell: bundled with Mac OS X; available for download here
Satoshi: available for download here
Supreme: available for download here
U001Con: available for download here
Work Sans: available for download here

How to use

MN Create Title Page:
- Before running this plug-in, make sure you have the default box (‘vertical frame’) at the top of your first page of music with the correct title, subtitle (e.g. ‘for string quartet’) and your/the composer’s name. The plug-in will use this information to create a new, styled title page.
- Adding an image can be another nice touch. Once you’ve created your title page, right-click anywhere in the title page frame and choose Add→Image, then select an image from your hard-drive. Once added, you’ll need to resize the image (in Properties) and drag it into the correct location.
MN Make Recommended Layout Changes:
- You can run this plug-in at any time; however, it’s recommended that you have added all of the instruments you will need, and have at least two systems of music entered.
- Also if your piece has parts, create the parts by selecting the Parts button in the top-middle of your score, then click the ‘Open All’ button in the dialog that opens.
MN Check Rhythmic Notation, MN Check Layout and Instrumentation, MN Check Accidentals:
- Select the plugin you wish to run from the Plugins menu. (If you can’t see the names of the plugins, check that you have enabled them — see installation instructions above)
- Note that the Check Layout and Instrumentation plugin always checks the entire score, regardless of the current selection.
- The plugin will go through the selection/score looking for relevant issues. When it finds one, it will add a yellow text box comment on the score (somewhere close to the error), and will highlight the relevant notation object in pink. Once it has finished, it will present a dialog box telling you how many errors it found.
- Note that the plugins do not fix the error themselves: that is up to you.
- Sometimes these comments might be more of a suggestion rather than a hard-and-fast typesetting rule: you should therefore consider each comment carefully before remedying.
- It can be a good idea to delete each comment box as you fix the relevant issue to keep track of what you have done.
- If there are a lot of comments, sometimes a comment box can end up some distance away from the object it is referring to.
- Each time you run a plugin, it will remove any previous comments or highlights.
- To manually remove all comments and highlights from a score, please run the ‘MN Delete Comments and Highlights’ plugin
- Some comments refer to a specific page in Behind Bars by Elaine Gould. This is simply to provide a level of evidence behind some of my comments, in case you think them overly pedantic or plain wrong! 😄

Warning: potential issues with MuseScore plugins

The MuseScore plugins use the styles of their comment boxes (yellow fill, black border) to distinguish them from normal text objects and highlights. As such, if you select ‘Format→Reset Text Style Overrides’ or ‘Format→Reset Entire Score to Default Layout’ while you still have comments on the score, MuseScore will revert them all to standard black-and-white text.
If this happens, the ‘MN Delete Comments and Highlights’ will not be able to detect them to delete them, and you will have to go through and manually delete each one. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not use these commands while there are still comments on your score.

Bugs — Wait! Nothing happened!!!

All of the plugins except ‘MN Delete Comments and Highlights’ show a dialog box titled ‘COMPLETION’ when they successfully complete their check of the score.
However, if there is a bug in the plugin code that means it fails to successfully complete its checks, MuseScore does not currently have a way of letting the user know — instead it just does nothing and the dialog box does not show.
Therefore, if you do not get a ‘COMPLETION’ dialog box after running the plugin, it may mean that MuseScore encountered a bug and could not complete the code. If that happens…

Feedback, requests and bug reports

Please send all feedback, feature requests and bug reports via the Contact form